Gad Saad

By the way, that also explains why people think, for example, that I defend Israel because I'm Jewish.

There is an element to that.

I mean, most of my family's in Israel.

But it's really I defend Israel because many of its values are congruent with those that we hold dear in the United States.

So given the region of the Middle East, if I'm going to send my daughter or yours to some university to study—

I would much rather for her to be in a society in Tel Aviv or Haifa than I would in many of the other places.

So it's in that sense that I'm pro-Israel.

So if you ask me to allocate 100 points to how much of my support of Israel is due to the fact that many of its foundational values are similar to those of the United States versus the fact that I'm Jewish and Israel is a Jewish state, I would say 80-20.

Informer for the latter, meaning that I am defending the civilizational values of Israel in a very, very difficult and belligerent neighborhood.

Does Israel always do things perfectly?

No.

Do they have politicians that are corrupt?

Yes.

Have pedophiles who did bad things here try to go there and have aliyah?

meaning get residency there and run away from the thing.

Yes, but it could also be the case that a bank robber or pedophile goes back to Thailand if there are no extradition mechanisms to bring them back to the United States.

So my position of defending the United States or Israel or whomever else really stems from some foundational values of liberty and freedom.

There is no conceivable place in the world where, given the neighborhood that Israel exists in, one would conceivably defend any of those other societies instead of Israel, if the metrics that you care about are personal liberties and freedoms.

We could then debate specific policies and you'd be completely in your right to say, I don't like when the Israeli government does this.

But...